LEGAL action is being considered by a businessman over claims of faults in a multi-million pound bowling alley and leisure complex in a Devon resort.

Problems in a floor at the state-of-the-art building under construction on Exmouth seafront are thought to have been found, forcing the completion date to be put back months.

The landmark building, which will be clad in glass, includes a restaurant, children's play area and function rooms and has been designed in such a way that it can incorporate an ice-skating rink at certain times of the year.

Work should have been completed last Christmas, said Mark Quinn, who owns Harlequins Leisure which is behind the scheme.

But he said he could not now say when the development would be finished.

"A legal case is going on because I don't want to pay the cost of putting right the fault," he said.

"The cost involved is a large sum of money. The work has to be done to the agreed standard and it has to be rectified."

Mr Quinn, who runs a similar complex in Bude, Cornwall, said that, so far, there was an eight-month delay with the building and most of the work was now at a standstill.

"There is insurance which is going to have to pay for the faulty work," he said. "I have got to get through this somehow because I need to get the complex open as soon as possible. I am very disappointed. I love this site and the building. But it is costing us a lot of money."

The latest setback follows a series of problems to beset the building. The site, formerly an outdoor swimming pool, remained derelict for about 15 years as a range of proposals ranging from a pub and restaurant to a row of shops was considered.

When the site was cleared prior to construction work starting, an underground sewer was discovered.

Mr Quinn also had to get over planning wrangles and recently drew up a revised scheme to slightly raise the height of the roof and place wind turbines on the building.

But it has brought opposition amid claims the turbines are "inappropriate" for the area.

As previously reported in the Echo, Mr Quinn plans to create 60 new jobs when the complex opens.